Voodoo Moon [Hardcover]

Ed Gorman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2000

Twenty-five years ago, in a small Iowa town, an asylum for the criminally insane burned to the ground, killing inmates and employees. The fire was set by Paul Renard, a sexual psychopath who escaped the blaze and disappeared. Today young Ricky Hennessey faces murder charges in the death of his girlfriend. His defense: Paul Renard did it. Legal investigator Robert Payne joins the case at the request of Tandy West, a cable TV psychic and Payne's former lover. She's doing a piece on the Hennessey case for her show but has begun to question her gift and feels the need for Payne's reality-based investigatory skills. With the assistance of the local police chief, Susan Charles, Payne learns that the past has invaded the future in a most unexpected way.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Veteran crime author and editor Gorman gives psychological profiler and former FBI man Robert Payne (Harlot's Moon, Hawk Moon, etc.) a fourth chance to shine, but he manages only a pale glow in this loosely constructed tale. Brenner, Iowa, seems an unlikely locale for voodoo activity, but local legend supplies an explanation. Wealthy, charismatic and insane Paul Renard, a rapist and murderer who was confined to Sterling Psychiatric Hospital, not only practiced voodoo but also arson. When he burned down the hospital in the late1960s, more than 20 people, patients and staff, perished. Renard escaped and, though once spotted, has eluded capture ever since. Now a recent murder has stirred up the dormant legend. Tandy West, a psychic who's helped the FBI in the past by locating missing bodies, calls in Payne. West has profited from exercising her paranormal gifts on a cable TV show, but unfortunately the show's ratings have slipped to almost zero, along with her psychic powers. Payne, who was once West's lover, may be her only hopeAboth to solve the murder and to revive her sagging career. Gorman lays on the gothic trappings, including timely thunderstorms, hidden identities and secretly buried bodies, but the plot is just too haphazard and full of loose ends to produce much suspense. Some bright dialogue and Payne's engaging narrative voice stand out in what otherwise seems a halfhearted effort. (Aug.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Twenty-five years ago, in a small Iowa town, an asylum for the criminally insane burned to the ground, killing inmates and employees. The fire was set by Paul Renard, a sexual psychopath who escaped the blaze and disappeared. Today young Ricky Hennessey faces murder charges in the death of his girlfriend. His defense: Paul Renard did it. Legal investigator Robert Payne joins the case at the request of Tandy West, a cable TV psychic and Payne's former lover. She's doing a piece on the Hennessey case for her show but has begun to question her gift and feels the need for Payne's reality-based investigatory skills. With the assistance of the local police chief, Susan Charles, Payne learns that the past has invaded the future in a most unexpected way. This fourth installment in the Moon series offers an exciting mix of horror and suspense. Another fine novel from the always reliable, underrated Gorman. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (August 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312242719
• ISBN-13: 978-0312242718
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,563,447 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More twists than a pretzel, October 8, 2000

By 

V. Collins "intrmezzo" (Oklahoma City, OK USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Voodoo Moon (Hardcover)

This was the first book that I read by Ed Gorman and I ejoyed it very much. I thought it to be a very fast read and did not lack for excitement. The "profiler" Robert Payne is a compassionate character, but still dedicated to seeking the truth. The female characters are interesting and treated with great respect by Payne. I was not able to predict the many plot twists and the ending was great!

5.0 out of 5 stars Many characters with many secrets lead to many paths and the solution is unexpected, November 17, 2009

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Voodoo Moon (Hardcover)

This book, set in a small Iowa town where things tend to move slow, progresses at a fast clip. Furthermore, unlike many of the bumpy roads of rural Iowa, the passage is smooth and efficient. Robert Payne is an ex-FBI agent that specialized in psychological profiling.
Brenner, Iowa is a small town with one main claim to criminal fame. Over three decades ago patient Paul Renard burned down Sterling Psychiatric Hospital and when he was fleeing witnesses spotted him falling into a rapids where he was presumed killed, although no body was ever recovered. A young woman was recently killed and the prime suspect, a young man named Rick Hennessey, claims that he killed her but he is not responsible because he is possessed by the spirit of Renard.
There are many unusual characters to thicken and muddy the plot. Two sisters, one a psychic and the other the host of a syndicated television show that exploits the psychic powers are in town. Payne has worked with the psychic in the past and they are now lovers. A producer of the show is so driven to increase the falling ratings that he shoots at Payne and the stars for publicity and is possessively in love with the host to the point where he could be considered a stalker. There is also a mysterious private detective that snoops around with no discernable purpose. An old rural cliché is developed and exploited, as there is a crazy woman kept secluded in the attic of a house and her circumstances have some bearing on the case.
Surrounding the mix of unusual characters are many of the more traditional ones, a beautiful chief of police with an unsightly scar on her face, another town cop with little affection for FBI agents and the usual cantankerous people found in all small midwestern towns.
Given the breadth and depth of the characters, there are many options for the storyline, including many of the usual suspects path lines. However, Gorman weaves the options so well that the reality is well hidden and not revealed until the very end. As is the case with many of the best murder mysteries with usual suspects and normal people the usual becomes the unusual. I enjoyed this book and as a lifelong residence of the Cedar Rapids area, enjoyed the references to the nuances of living in a small town in Iowa.

1.0 out of 5 stars A pretty bad book loaded with "potty talk", February 5, 2001

By 

"hjsam" (Naples and Connecticut) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Voodoo Moon (Hardcover)

I usually write reviews on only very good or very bad books. This one is clearly the latter. Gorman is a pretty bad writer, with a plot with a Bates Motel-like ending that is dopey beyond belief. In addition, the two female leads (one is the narrator's sometimes lover) are two of the most obnoxious characters I have read in some time---totally unsympathetic!! Worse than all of that, frankly, is the fact that this author just loves "potty talk", in bed, out of bed, wherever!! Every bodily orifice is discussed in detail. The heroine(?) vomits on what seems every few pages. After making love she asks whether she farted all night while she slept, saying she had a flatulence problem. She also said she smelled at the beginning of her menstrual cycle. The narrator described every pee he took, etc., etc. These are not people I would invite over for dinner. What an offputting book Gorman has written!!